In A Heartbeat
by Munchkincat
Summary: Mark is the victim of a hit-and-run and is severely injured. As the search goes on for the man behind the wheel, Elizabeth is there for Mark every step of the way. Chapter 3 is now up! :)
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: "ER" is property of Warner Brothers Television, NBC, and all respective producers and cast. I have written this story for fanfiction and nothing else. I am not making a profit from this. This is simply for fanfiction enjoyment. ** 

Spoilers: None 

Rating: PG-13 for strong language and some violent scenes. 

Summary: Mark is the victim of a hit-and-run and is severely injured. As the search goes on for the man behind the wheel, Elizabeth is there for Mark every step of the way. 

Acknowledgment: I'd like to thank Lori (SixteenOzs) for all her help with this fanfic!! She is a wonderful M&E fanfic writer!! Thanks Lori!!! 

**In A Heartbeat **

Another trauma victim was wheeled through the doors of Cook County General as Kerry rushed to treat the victim on the way to Trauma 1. 

Mark was just about to take his lunch, when the radio on the admit desk crackled. 

"ER," Randi answered. 

"We've got a 5 car pileup on the 154 freeway!" shouted the paramedic at the other end, "5 majors, and 7 minors coming your way! And we need a ride-a-long on the Medivac chopper!" 

"I'll take it," Mark volunteered. 

"We're sending a doctor down there now," Randi replied, "but we can only take 3 majors." 

"County," said the paramedic, "North side is already booked with another accident." 

Mark grabbed his jacket before heading for the roof. Once on the roof, he discovered that it was pouring outside. Rain pelted down relentlessly. Mark pulled his jacket tighter around him as he boarded the awaiting chopper. 

As Mark hopped off the helicopter, a horrific scene laid before his eyes. 

"One car skidded out of control on the wet ground, when it happened," the driver of the helicopter had explained on the way to the scene, "then one thing led to another." 

A small white compact car stood facing the side of the road. A mini-van had collided into the driver's seat. The small car was a crumpled heap of metal, and the mini-van's hood was damaged beyond repair. Just to the left of the mini-van, a car had swerved to the left, smashing into the guardrail. The truck behind it slammed into the back of the car. Behind the mini-van, a family car had crashed head-on into the back of the mini-van. 

Mark headed for the compact car, where a little girl was trapped in the car seat. 

"Mommie!" the girl screamed out, as Mark started to talk to her. 

"Its okay," he soothed, as she turned her face towards him, "I'm Dr. Greene, and I'm here to help you." 

"It hurts," the girl cried, tears streaming from her eyes, "where's my Mommie?" 

Mark looked over to the driver's seat, where a badly injured woman met his sight. Paramedics were at her side, trying desperately to get her out with the Jaws of Life and treating her injuries from the other side of the car at the same time. The woman was not conscious. 

"It's okay," Mark repeated, "you Mom has people helping her right now, and I'm going to help you. What's your name?" As he tried to comfort the child, Mark pulled on gloves and began to assess the girl's injuries. 

"A-a-amy-y," the girl stammered. 

After stabilizing the young girl, Mark took off his jacket and put it on the girl as she was put on a gurney and rolled into an ambulance. 

Looking towards the mini-van, Mark spotted another victim. He raced across the freeway with just hospital scrubs and a thin shirt to protect him from the rain. Suddenly, an SUV roared to life and began barreling into the road of crumpled cars. One minute, the giant vehicle was sitting among the cars that were backed up behind the sectioned off accident scene, and the next, it tore down the highway. In the blink of an eye, everything changed for Mark Greene. 

As Mark was running across the freeway, the SUV slammed into him. The man driving the SUV hesitated momentarily before stomping on the gas yet again, as Mark's body disappeared underneath the monstrous car. Seconds after the SUV hit Mark, it rolled over him. Mark's head snapped back, slamming onto the pavement. The SUV swerved left and right to avoid police whom had just witnessed a hit and run. 

Mark felt pain unlike anything he had ever felt before. He felt as if knives were tearing into his side, stabbing so deep, that he could barely breathe. He could tell that his left arm was broken, because moving it just slightly forced merciless pain to arise. His chest had also taken the blunt force of the blow, and it was now soaked in blood. Mark laid face up on the pavement, unable to move, wincing from the agonizing pain. Rain soaked his entire body, making the wind beat his wounds with a sharp, stinging cold. 

A paramedic rushed over to Mark. She cringed as she saw his beaten body. Mark's chest was covered in blood, right side of his face had a long bloody scar running down the side, his feet were twisted around each other in an unnatural way, and pools of blood had started to collect around his feet, ribs, and head. 

"Doctor..," the paramedic paused, not knowing Mark's name. 

Mark tried to answer, but as when he tried to speak, nothing came out. He panicked, trying to say his name, but still his voice would not come. Panicking, Mark breathed harder, but the pain in his lungs forced him to stop trying. 

"I'm Wendy Ranks," she introduced herself while attending to Mark, "I'm from North Valley Presbyterian, but we're going to send you to County." 

Wendy attached a C-collar to Mark's neck and immediately called for assistance. 

"Fisher!" she called out, "I need some help here!" 

Fisher, another EMT rushed over. 

"He can't speak," Wendy explained. 

Fisher looked at Mark's bloody chest. 

"No wonder he can't," he commented, "look at the trauma to his chest." 

As Mark stared up at the sky, he blinked against the pelting rain. Suddenly a sharp pain stabbed him in the side. Mark winced and screamed in pain, only a strangled gasp for air came out. 

"He has some rib fractures," Wendy commented, talking to the paramedic whom she had just called. 

"No kidding," Mark thought. 

An umbrella was held over Mark's head as another paramedic rushed over with a backboard in hand. Mark struggled to ask the many questions in his head. 

" What happened? Can someone get my glasses? Who's that holding the umbrella?" these questions swirled in Mark's mind, but soon, all he could think about was the pain. Mark tried to speak again, but his shaky, raspy breath made breathing unbearable. He began to panic, for the shallow, struggled breath augmented the pain in his side, feet, and head. All the while, paramedics were easing him onto the backboard. 

"Dr. Greene," a paramedic suddenly came to view, looking into Mark's eyes, "we're going to get you into the Medivac chopper." 

As Mark was lifted onto a gurney, he could hear several unfamiliar voices hovering about him. 

" Alert County ," shouted one voice, "tell them we have another major on the way!" 

As Mark was being rolled to the chopper, he lost consciousness. 

"ER," Randi answered the radio's ring. 

"County, we have another major coming your way." 

"What?" Randi retorted, looking at the scene around her. Kerry was receiving the bullet of the last trauma patient being wheeled though the emergency doors. Carter was busy in Trauma 2 assessing a woman's injuries, Jing-Mei was helping Anspaugh rush a patient to surgery, Kovac was in Exam 2 attending to a child, and Malucci was giving a patient a hard time in the suture room. 

"We can't take any more traumas!" she cried, "we're backed up here! We're closed to traumas!" 

"You don't understand," the voice on the other end said in desperation, "it's…crackle...buzz" 

Randi slapped the side of the radio as static loudly interrupted the voice. "What?" she said, almost shouting, "what did you say?" After several failed attempts to get a coherent sentence from the radio, Randi hung up the receiver. 

She walked briskly down to the halls to where Kerry was criking a victim, announcing that another major was on it's way. 

"Didn't you tell them 'no'?" Kerry cried, not taking her eyes off her patient. 

"I did," Randi answered, "but they didn't listen." 

"Yeah, well next time, make them listen!" 

Randi sighed as she left the room in a huff. 

As Benton was walking down the halls, his pager beeped, chirping its familiar tone. Taking a quick look at the number, he turned around and headed for the stairs leading to the roof. The Medivac chopper was coming in for a landing as Elizabeth and a nurse held onto a clean gurney. Benton nodded a hello towards Elizabeth as the two braced themselves against the pouring rain. Once Mark was lifted onto the gurney, Benton and Elizabeth recognized the bloody face right away. 

"MARK?" both cried simultaneously. 

"Mark, what happened," Benton cried, as he stared at his extensive injuries. 

Tears began to well up in Elizabeth 's face the minute she saw her fiancee. 

"Mark," she blurted out, craning her neck so that he could see her face, "Can you speak? Say something!" Elizabeth 's now shaky hands fumbled around as she clasped her hands around Mark's arm. Being careful not to move it, she stroked his arm and then his forehead, trying to ease at least some of the fear that was apparent in his eyes. 

Mark struggled to speak, desperately trying to utter a mere sound, but the excruciating pain in his lungs forced yet another shallow breath to jump down his throat. Realizing they were standing still, Benton pulled the gurney alongside him as he screamed out, 

"Let's move people!" 

In the ER, most of the chaos had finally calmed down. 

"Randi," Kerry called, "I need to talk to you." 

Randi rolled her eyes before following Kerry down the hall. She could feel another lecture coming on. 

"Dr. Weaver," she pleaded, "I told them we were booked, but they didn't listen. Plus, there was static…" 

"You need to tell them to take the traumas up to Mercy if North Western is busy!" Kerry interrupted, "We can't have major trauma patients waiting in line in triage, but that's what'll happen if you don't tell them that we are closed to traumas." 

"So, what? You want the patients to wait, bleeding in the streets, until a hospital is ready or want to take them?!" 

"Kerry!" shouted Benton . 

"Not now," Kerry admonished, not looking in his direction. 

"What the hell do you mean 'not now'? Come to Trauma 2! Mark's been hit!" 

Benton and Elizabeth sped past the two, shoving them aside. 

Kerry and Randi stared in shock at the victim on the gurney. Blood was everywhere, soaking the gurney, but it was the familiar face that made Kerry and Randi stare at each other in shock. Running as fast as she could, Kerry rushed to Trauma 2. 

A paramedic ran the bullet by Kerry, Benton, and Elizabeth. "Hit and run by an SUV. Multiple rib fractures on the left side…" 

"An SUV?" repeated Benton incredulously. 

"No breath sounds on the left! And we have to intubate!" shouted Elizabeth , grabbing the intubation tray. 

"… loss of consciousness, fractured ankle, fractures of the left arm and possible concussion… " 

Elizabeth intubated Mark and began bagging him. All the while, she struggled not to blink out the tears that were stinging her eyes. 

As the paramedic left the room, Carter entered. 

"What've we got?" 

"MARK?" Carter cried out recognizing the figure on the gurney. Carter put on his stethoscope and listened to Mark's breathing. 

"Breath sounds absent on the left." 

"We know that, Carter!" shouted Benton . 

"We need a chest tube," Kerry said. 

"BP's 70 over 50. Get a CBC, type and cross 4 units, and dip a urine," Carter called out quickly. 

As Carter helped Kerry insert a chest tube though Mark's chest, Yosh burst into the room. 

"I heard what happened," he explained, his usually calm voice now shaky, "anything I can do to help?" 

"Yes," Kerry said not looking up, "get 4 units of … " 

"A positive," Elizabeth finished. 

"I… I think we should type and cross," Kery said gently, "just to make sure." 

Elizabeth gave a slight nod. 

After Benton type and crossed Mark's blood, confirming his A positive blood, Yosh raced out of the room to retrieve the untis. Kerry looked straight into Mark's unresponsive eyes with the help of a small light. 

"Pupils are round and sluggish, possibly hyphema! Get a cross-table c-spine, chest and pelvis." 

"Carter, call CT!" Kerry commanded Carter as they finished inserting the chest tube. 

Carter grabbed the hospital receiver, dialed, and shouted into the phone: 

"Clear CT right now, please! We have a docto… I mean, trauma patient on his way." 

Benton was surveying the severity of the blow to Mark's ribs and ankle while Elizabeth was applying pressure to Mark's head to try and stop the bleeding. 

Yosh returned to the Trauma room armed with 5 units of blood. The entryway was blocked by doctors, nurses and staff peering into the room. Yosh shoved his way through. 

"Out of the way, please!" 

Once in the room, Yosh began administering the blood to Mark. 

Suddenly, the portable heart monitor Mark was hooked onto, screeched in alarm. The slow, shaky beeps sped up, and in a split second, the monitor howled out a long, successive tone. Mark's eyes rolled to the back of his head. 

"Oh, God!" Benton cried out, "He's crashing!" 

Benton grabbed the paddles off the crash cart. 

"Charge to 200!" 

Haleh charged the paddles as Elizabeth stared down at Mark, hands shaking. Carter, Kerry, Elizabeth and Yosh held their hands up as Benton placed the paddles on Mark's chest. 

"CLEAR!" 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: "ER" is property of Warner Brothers Television, NBC, and all respective producers and cast. I have written this story for fanfiction and nothing else. I am not making a profit from this. This is simply for fanfiction enjoyment. ** 

Spoilers: None 

Rating: PG-13 for strong language and some violent scenes. 

Summary: Mark is the victim of a hit-and-run and is severely injured. As the search goes on for the man behind the wheel, Elizabeth is there for Mark every step of the way. 

Acknowledgment: I'd like to thank Lori (SixteenOzs) for all her help with this fanfic!! She is a wonderful M&E fanfic writer!! Thanks Lori!!! 

**In A Heartbeat **

Mark's limp body jumped up. 

Everyone stared at the monitor. Mark was still flatlined. 

"Charge to 300!" 

"CLEAR!" 

Benton shocked Mark yet again, this time his heart responded. 

Everyone in the trauma room breathed a sigh of relief as the heart monitor resumed beeping. 

"Should we take him up to CT now?" Carter asked Kerry. 

"Yes." Kerry confirmed. 

Benton and Carter pulled up the gurney rails and they clapped into place. Elizabeth looked deeply into Mark's face. Tears were streaming down her face as she leaned toward him and rubbed the side of his face with her palm. She cringed as she felt his face. 

"He's freezing," she said softly. 

Kerry turned around and grabbed a thermometer off the cart behind her. Quickly, she took Mark's temperature as the rest of the doctors prepared for Mark's transport. 

"Temp's 96.5! Get some warm saline!" 

Once they had taken the CTs, Carter grabbed the films as soon as they were processed. 

"Oh man!" Carter shouted, holding up Mark's CTs to the light. 

Benton looked up at the CTs. 

Elizabeth stared incredulously at the film and gently kissed Mark on the forehead. 

"Oh God. Mark," tears rolled from her cheeks and splashed down on Mark's face. 

"His fractured ribs punctured his lung!" Benton gasped, "and his head CT shows some bleeding around his skull." 

"Let's get him up to the OR!" Benton shouted, and the crowd that had gathered in the doorway immediately stepped back. 

"I'm going with you," Elizabeth announced, looking at Benton . 

" Elizabeth , I can handle this." 

"Peter, it's Mark! I need to treat him." 

Benton pushed Mark's gurney alongside as he strode to the elevator, Elizabeth fast at his heels. Carter who had now taken over the bagging, looked up sympathetically at Elizabeth . 

" Elizabeth , I know you want to do this, but to be honest, you can't." 

Before Elizabeth could protest, Benton continued. 

Carter pushed the elevator button, and stared down at his friend. 

"Look at you. Look at your hands." 

Elizabeth brought her hands up to her face. They were shaking uncontrollably. 

"Do you know that he needs…" rushed Elizabeth , looking into Benton 's eyes. 

"Yes." 

"He has a pneumothorax . ." 

Both said simultaneously. 

" Elizabeth ," Benton assured, "I'm going to take care of him." 

"At least let me be there with him," Elizabeth implored. 

Benton nodded before he and Carter wheeled Mark into the elevator with Elizabeth holding Mark's hand. Back in Trauma 2, Kerry and Yosh followed Mark a few feet and watched silently as the elevator doors closed. Yosh gave an exasperated sigh as Kerry walked slowly away. 

Benton walked quickly by the OR admit desk. 

"Prep OR 1," he commanded, "we have an emergency." 

"You're going to take it?" questioned the nurse at the desk, "What about the appendectomy scheduled?" 

"Give him to Romano," Benton said hurriedly. 

Benton took over the bagging, and hooked Mark up to a ventilator. Mark had been unconscious since he crashed, but Elizabeth clung onto every bit of hope that he could hear her. 

"Mark," she said, her voice quavering, "I'm right here. I'm going to be right here with you. I'm going to change into scrubs now." Two more tears began to roll down her cheeks and she quickly wiped them away with the back of her hand. 

Elizabeth quickly changed clothes as Benton scrubbed up. 

A neurosurgeon was called in to stop the bleeding in Mark's head. Fortunately, his skull had not cracked, but there was some bleeding between his skull and head. The surgeon stopped the bleeding and sutured Mark's head. 

Then, Benton took over to repair Mark's lung. Throughout the surgery, Elizabeth kept an eye on Benton 's progress and intently surveyed Mark's face. He looked so pale and vulnerable. Several times, Elizabeth bit her lower lip to try and maintain her composure. The delicate surgery lasted 5 hours. All the while, Elizabeth was at Mark's side. Finally, after inserting bolts to reset the fractured bones in Mark's left arm and right ankle, Benton finished up the last of the sutures. 

Mark was transferred to the Surgical ICU, with Elizabeth holding onto his hand. An exhausted Benton offered to bring Elizabeth something to eat, but she politely declined. Before leaving the SICU, Benton turned around, wanting to warn Elizabeth that such a major surgery had a very uncertain and dangerous outcome, but he walked away, rubbing Elizabeth 's hand to comfort her. She knew all to well what risks were involved, which was why she had turned all her patients over to another surgeon to be with Mark. But major or not, Elizabeth would be with Mark when he needed her, Benton knew that. What struck Benton was the fact that he had warned friends and relatives of patients of a poor prognosis numerous times, but seeing someone he had known for years sent shock waves throughout his body. Benton looked sadly as though the SICU window before leaving. Mark laid perfectly still with a bandage over his head, sutures on his left side, a splint on his badly swollen arm, and yet another splint that would prevent him from moving his ankle. His chest, carefully bandaged and encased in a soft but firm brace, slowly rose up and down in sync with the respirator. Elizabeth sat by his bed, never taking her eyes off her fiancee. 

"Peter wait," Elizabeth called out. 

Benton strode back to the SICU. 

"What the hell happened?" she cried out suddenly. 

"I don't know exactly," Benton said honestly. 

"What kind of bastard would hit him and then drive away?" she screamed out. 

It took a moment for Peter to respond. 

"I don't know," he sighed, shrugging his shoulders dejectedly, " Listen, I was just about to go down to the ER and ask Kerry what exactly happened. The paramedics have talked to her." 

"Can you bring her up here?" Elizabeth asked, "I want to stay here with Mark." 

Benton nodded and headed downstairs. 

Elizabeth smiled an appreciative thanks. She knew Mark wouldn't wake up for a while. The major surgery required heavy anesthesia, but she didn't want to leave his side. She knew Benton knew that too, but he respected her wishes. 

After just a few minutes, Benton and Kerry silently ascended the stairs that led to the SICU. Once Benton and Kerry got to the SICU doorway, both paused as they peered through the window blinds. Elizabeth had her head laid down on the pillow next to Mark's. She fiddled around with the Mark's hospital gown collar and rubbed his chest. Kerry knocked gently on the door as she eased her way in. 

" Elizabeth ," 

"Kerry," Elizabeth greeted solemnly, raising her head from the pillow. 

Kerry took a deep breath before starting. She gave Elizabeth a look that said, "are you sure you want to hear this?" 

Elizabeth nodded. 

"Mark was hit by an SUV…. the paramedics said that it happened so fast. He was at the scene of a multi-vehicle accident. The police had gotten there before him. They cleared traffic, and as Mark was running across the road to another patient, when an SUV just suddenly drove down the accident scene and hit him." 

Elizabeth buried her head in her hands. 

Kerry paused, her voice beginning to waver. 

"After the SUV hit him, the driver just drove on… They haven't given me word as to if they caught the person who did this." 

Elizabeth bit her lower lip as she turned to look at Mark's heart monitor. The faint, weak beeps resounded in Elizabeth 's ears. 

" Elizabeth ," Kerry said softly, "Mark will pull through this. He's a lot stronger than a lot of people I know. He'll make it." 

Elizabeth sighed. She wanted to be as confident as Kerry was, or seemed to be, but a nagging feeling of doubt invaded her mind. 

Gazing at Mark, Elizabeth laid her head on Mark's bed with her arms folded underneath. Recollecting all that had happened that morning, the memory seemed more distant than ever before. The morning was like every morning. Mark's shift started earlier than Elizabeth 's. When Mark rose from the bed, Elizabeth awoke, but kept her eyes shut. Though Elizabeth had her eyes closed, she felt Mark lean toward her, and his gentle kiss made a wide grin spread across her face. 

"You faking me out?" Mark joked, "I see that grin on your face. Or maybe she's just dreaming." 

Elizabeth kept her eyes closed, but her grin stayed in place. 

"Oh well," Mark played along, "guess I'll just have to put this flower on the desk so she can see it when she wakes up." 

Elizabeth felt Mark's gentle hand lay on her cheek as she felt a soft flower rest on her face. She finally laughed, opened her eyes, and clasped the flower in her hands. She and Mark shared a passionate kiss with Elizabeth clutching the sunflower in her hand. 

" 'On the desk' huh?" Elizabeth smiled as he walked to the bathroom. 

"Go back to sleep," Mark said, "you have 1 ½ more hours of precious slumber left." 

Elizabeth laid her head back down on her pillow as she heard Mark start the shower. 

"Goodbye," she said as she heard him open the bedroom door to leave after he had had his shower. 

"Go to sleep," he said grinning as he closed the door softly behind him. 

beep……beep……beep…… beep 

The heart monitor resounded in Elizabeth 's ears yet again. Elizabeth closed her eyes, keeping them tightly shut. Her arms started to tremble as she wished with all her heart and soul that this was all a dream. Of course, she knew she would be just kidding herself. The respirator seemed to whistle in a mocking tone, as if bragging about its presence. 

"Dr. Corday," a voice gently called out. 

Elizabeth snapped her head up, jumping at the sudden voice. 

"I'm sorry…" Carter stood in the doorway, "I didn't mean to startle you." 

"It's okay," Elizabeth replied. 

Elizabeth watched as Carter's gaze turned towards Mark. He slowly let out a heavy sigh as the severity of Mark's injuries glared in his face. It took a few moments before he was able to find his voice again. 

"So, how is he?" 

"Not good," Elizabeth admitted, "he came out of surgery about half an hour ago, and nothing has really changed since then." 

Elizabeth turned back towards Mark. 

"You hungry?" Carter asked, knowing what Elizabeth would say, but he figured it was worth a shot. 

"No." Elizabeth replied. 

"But you haven't eaten since breakfast," Carter gently protested, "Why don't you come down to Doc Magoo's with me?" 

"I don't want to leave Mark," Elizabeth stated firmly. 

"Dr. Corday," Carter said, trying to be as gentle as possible, "I know Mark would want you to eat something. Besides, if he knew I let you stay here without eating, he'd kill me." 

Elizabeth managed a slight smile. 

Carter looked at her with hopeful eyes. 

Elizabeth sighed. She knew Mark wouldn't be up for a long time, and she wanted to stay, but Carter was right, Mark would want her to take care of herself. 

"Alright," Elizabeth said. She slowly rose out of her chair, holding onto Mark's hand as she slowly stepped out of the room. 

"I'll be right back, Mark." she whispered. 

As soon as Elizabeth passed the SICU admit desk, she said to the nurse, 

"Page me right away if anything changes in Mark's condition. And I mean if ANYTHING changes." 

The nurse nodded. 

Elizabeth sighed heavily as she and Carter sat in a booth at Doc Magoo's. She buried her face in her hands with he elbows on the table. Carter looked solemnly at her, wanting to comfort her, but not knowing how. 

"Mark's gonna be okay," Carter said softly. 

Elizabeth jumped at the sound of his voice. Once she sat down, she had become lost in her own thoughts. Wanting to be strong for Mark, even when he was unconscious, she had been fighting back tears. 

"How do you kno..o w that?" Elizabeth asked, her voice choking. 

"Mark's strong,…" Carter started. 

"I know Mark's strong!" Elizabeth shouted, "but he's suffered _severe injuries. Broken ankle, broken ribs, a __pneumothorax!" _

"Dr. Corday," Carter said firmly, "Mark's going to get though this." 

A waitress came up to the table and Carter ordered. After Elizabeth asked for just some tea, he ordered for her. Elizabeth managed to smile.

"You gotta eat something," he smiled back. 

A long silence commenced between Carter and Elizabeth as they waited for their food. Elizabeth kept staring out the window, lost in her own thoughts, while Carter struggled to say something comforting. 

Suddenly, Elizabeth 's pager came to life, vibrating and beeping on the table. Elizabeth grabbed it as soon as it started beeping. 

"It's Mark!" she cried looking at Carter after looking at her pager which read: 9-1-1 . 

Instinctively, she bolted out the door, almost knocking over a waitress on the way. 

"Dr. Corday!" Carter called after her, "Wait!" 

The waitress had just arrived with their food, and Carter was left to ask for the food to go as he hurriedly picked up the tab, trying his best to chase after Elizabeth , but not being very successful. 

Elizabeth tore after the SICU, taking the stairs two at a time. When she got to Mark's room, it was empty. Even his bed was gone. Hesitating momentarily, Elizabeth scanned the room. She then heard the familiar voices of her colleagues. Their shouting echoed down the hall.

Elizabeth raced down the hall towards the sound of the panicked voices, which were coming from OR 1. She burst in the room and found her colleagues already prepping Mark for yet another surgery.

"WHAT HAPPENED?" she demanded. 

Immediately, she ran to Mark's side, then surveyed his beaten body. A quick scan of his body told her that there were no visible complications on the outside of Mark's body, but as her eyes followed the many tubes that were connected to him, she gasped in horror. A container that led to Mark's abdomen that was empty was now filled with blood. 

"He's bleeding out!" Elizabeth gasped. 


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: "ER" is property of Warner Brothers Television, NBC, and all respective producers and cast. I have written this story for fanfiction and nothing else. I am not making a profit from this. This is simply for fanfiction enjoyment. ** 

Spoilers: None 

Rating: PG-13 for strong language and some violent scenes.

Summary: Mark is the victim of a hit-and-run and is severely injured. As the search goes on for the man behind the wheel, Elizabeth is there for Mark every step of the way. 

Acknowledgment: I'd like to thank Lori (SixteenOzs) for all her help with this fanfic!! She is a wonderful M&E fanfic writer!! Thanks Lori!!! 

**In A Heartbeat **

Her colleagues around her became a blur as she heard commands that she had become so familiar to. Donald Anspaugh was in the room, ready to operate. 

" Elizabeth ," Anspaugh addressed calmly. 

Tears were now streaming down Elizabeth 's cheeks once again. 

"Donald," she said rather curtly "let me scrub in." 

"No," Anspaugh said bluntly, looking hard into Elizabeth 's eyes, "please wait outside." 

Elizabeth hesitated, looking down at Mark. There was never a time when he looked more vulnerable. 

" Elizabeth ," Anspaugh said gently, "I can do this. Mark's in good hands." 

Elizabeth took a deep breath before speaking. Anspaugh returned to making sure Mark was prepped for surgery. 

"Did you page Benton ?" Elizabeth asked, her voice much more steady, "I mean, because… he operated on Mark..." 

"I paged him," Anspaugh confirmed. 

As if on cue, Benton burst through the doors. 

"What's going on?" 

Elizabeth turned around. 

"Mark's bleeding out!" she explained, her voice thick with fear. 

The sheer terror in Elizabeth 's voice sent chills up Benton 's spine. As he scrubbed up, his adrenaline went into high gear for the second time that day. He observed Anspaugh through the window as he washed his hands for the surgery. 

As soon as she got outside, Elizabeth leaned against the wall next to the OR doors and cried. Tears flowed down her cheeks as she hid her face and slid down to the ground. However, her cry was not letting everything out. For some reason, Elizabeth was not able to fully cry yet. Her body was still numb from the shock, and she was holding back. 

Meanwhile, in the OR, Benton and Anspaugh were trying to find out why Mark was bleeding out. 

"Get me 8 units of O neg NOW!" Benton shouted. 

An orderly rushed out of the room. 

"Come on, Mark," Benton said, looking down at his friend's body, "hang in there. Just hang in there." 

He gently pressed down on Mark's chest and listened with his stethoscope. Benton barked out instructions as he made an incision on Mark's chest. Immediately, blood began pouring out. 

"Oh, GOD!" 

Anspaugh gasped trying to catch his breath. 

Shards of Mark's broken ribs had somehow made their way to his vocal cords. 

"Why the hell didn't I see this before?" Benton scolded himself out loud, 

Benton and Ansapugh spent the next three hours controlling the bleeding. They discovered that many parts of Mark's larynx were damaged beyond repair. As surgeons, Benton and Anspaugh would have normally cut these parts out, but Benton they left Mark's larynx as it was. Although all their medical knowledge told Benton and Anspaugh to cut off the damaged parts, they knew that if they did, Mark would lose all hope of recovering his voice. 

As soon as he was rolled out, Elizabeth was at Mark's side. Benton followed Elizabeth back to the SICU. Fatigued and exhausted, Benton struggled to talk to Elizabeth . 

"Why was he bleeding out?" Elizabeth asked the same question she had been asking in the OR. 

" Elizabeth …" Benton said softly, "umm… Mark's vocal cords were… severed." 

Elizabeth gasped in horror. 

"I don't know what we can do about it…" Benton started to say, but Elizabeth caught every word, "he's stable for now. It's just something we have to think of later on." 

"Thank you," Elizabeth said, expressing her deep gratitude. Benton just gave her an understanding glance as he patted her shoulder and headed home, completely exhausted. 

Once Elizabeth was back in the SICU with Mark, she sank into the hard chair next to his bed. She held Mark's hand with one hand as she caressed Mark's face with the other. Mark suddenly seemed to be half of his already thin figure. His frail, pale body laid motionless. Then suddenly, Elizabeth felt like talking to Mark even though she knew he couldn't hear her. For the next hour, she talked endlessly about just about anything: how much she despised Romano, telling him about how the weather was like when she was in England . Then, she started to recollect romantic moments they shared. When she reached the recollections of the previous morning (by now, it was early the next morning), she had to stop. Tears had begun to well up in her eyes once again. Her one-sided conversation was cut off when she saw Carter approaching the doorway. He entered the room, holding a paper bag. 

"Oh!," she said in surprise, "Carter! I forgot all about you!" 

Carter smiled. 

"It's okay," he said gently, "One of the surgeons told me what happened. I just thought you needed some time with Mark." 

Elizabeth smiled. 

"So what happened to our dinner?" she asked. 

"Malik devoured it before I could get it upstairs. It's okay, though, I got you some breakfast." 

"You really didn't have to do that," Elizabeth started, but Carter interrupted. 

"I wanted to," he insisted, "There's some French toast, an omelet, and some pancakes. You're probably starving by now." With that, he left the room, Elizabeth thanking him as he walked away. Elizabeth ate her breakfast in silence. All the while, she held Mark's hand. Finally, exhaustion took over her, and she fell asleep, resting her head on Mark's bed. 

She hadn't been asleep for more than ten minutes when she felt something move on her hand. Elizabeth jolted awake, realizing that she was holding Mark's hand, she clasped her hand around Mark's. 

"Mark?" she said softly. 

She looked intently at Mark's face for any slight movement. His eyes began to move under their eyelids and slowly, he blinked and opened his eyes. 

"Mark," Elizabeth called, squeezing Mark's hand, "It's Elizabeth ." Mark turned his head. Once he saw her, his mouth spread into a smile, but the smile was restricted within the confines on the respirator. His eyes darted around the room as Mark realized where he was. Eyes wide with fear, he looked up at Elizabeth . 

"Mark," Elizabeth said, quickly taking him into her arms, "It's okay. You're alright." As she said this, Elizabeth gave Mark a gentle embrace and looked directly into his eyes while caressing his face with her hands, You… ummm… were," Elizabeth stopped as she felt the lump in her throat get bigger, "hit… by a car. But-you're-okay. You have a broken ankle, arm, and a pneumothorax, but you're going to recover. It just takes time." 

Mark's panicked stare softened as he felt Elizabeth 's arms around his face. 

Elizabeth kissed Mark's forehead, and finally, Mark was able to lean back and recover from the initial mental shock of waking up. 

Elizabeth looked at Mark, knowing there was one important thing she had to tell him. 

"Mark," she said gently before fear could force her to back down, " Your v-v-vocal co-o-rds … have been damaged, but you're okay." She stammered as she said this. 

"You're going to be fine," she assured, cradling Mark's head with both of her hands as she looked straight in his eyes; but her voice wavered, and began to crack. 

Mark looked back in horror, eyes wide with fear. He squeezed Elizabeth 's hand. 

Then, Mark leaned back onto the bed and slowly lifted his left arm towards Elizabeth 's face and brushed her cheek. 

"Oh.. Mark," Elizabeth whispered through tears as Mark, though weak, summoned enough strength to try and comfort her. Elizabeth enveloped Mark in her arms, and once she embraced him, she could bear it no longer. Elizabeth broke down in tears. Leaning into his arms, she collapsed into a fit of tears, her body shaking and heaving as each tear was shed. As Mark smelled Elizabeth 's hair in the embrace, he closed his eyes, and opened them. Tears began to stream down his cheeks and soon, he was shaking too. Soon, the only sounds that could be heard in the room were the tearful sobs Mark and Elizabeth shared as they embraced. 

Elizabeth didn't know how long they stayed embraced in each others arms, but finally, sheer exhaustion forced Mark to lie back. 

Realizing he was still on the ventilator, leftover tears stung Elizabeth 's eyes as she focused on Mark's mouth. The respirator tube was taped over it. She had seen so many patients depending on a respirator to breathe; some went off it right away, others needed it for the rest of their lives. Seeing Mark depend on it, for the first time, Elizabeth realized just how menacing it was. 

"Mark," Elizabeth said, "can you breathe deeply for me?" 

Mark nodded, knowing just what she was going to do. Mark breathed in a slow, struggled breath as Elizabeth kept her eyes on the respirator monitor. Folding her hands, she made a silent prayer that Mark would breathe deeply enough. The monitor raised to the minimum level required, and this time it was Elizabeth 's turn to breathe a shaky breath. She breathed a sigh of relief, and turned to Mark. 

"You're okay," she said, smoothing his forehead with her palm. After a pause, she asked. 

"You ready?" 

Mark nodded weakly. Ever so gently, Elizabeth grasped the tube of the respirator. 

"Now blow, really hard," she said firmly. 

Mark nodded, knowing the drill. 

Elizabeth squinted her eyes as she gently but quickly pulled out the tube and Mark blew. As soon as the tube was out, Mark coughed hard several times, leaning forward and wincing as the pain in his wounds arose. 

"Oh, God," Elizabeth gasped. She cradled his head in her arms, gently rubbing his back. After a few shaky breaths, Mark leaned back, his breath slowly returning to normal, or as close to normal as he could get. 

"I'm so sorry, Mark," Elizabeth said after a short silence, her voice going a mile a minute, "God, if-I-could-get-my-hands-on-the-bastard-who-did-this-to-you. But-don't-worry, Mark-we-are-going-to-get-through-this…" 

As Mark laid on the bed, looking at Elizabeth , and hearing her ramble, he stretched out his arm and gently placed his hand on her mouth. Immediately, Elizabeth stopped talking. Taking her hand in his, Mark slowly brought Elizabeth 's hand to him. Pressing her hand on his chest, Elizabeth looked inquisitively as to what he was doing. Her heart skipped a beat when he gently pressed her hand on his chest. She felt a faint heartbeat as Mark placed her hand over his heart. 

" Elizabeth , I'm okay," Mark mouthed as he kept her hand over his chest so that she could feel his heartbeat. Cringing, Mark spoke his first words since being hit by the SUV, but no sounds came out. Although he had anticipated this, it still didn't mitigate the pain and terror of not being able to speak. 

Speechless, tears started welling in Elizabeth 's eyes. 

"I love you," Mark mouthed the words staring deep into Elizabeth 's eyes. 

"I love you too," Elizabeth replied, smiling. It was the first genuine smile she had on her face since the paramedics quickly unloaded Mark's stretcher onto the roof of Cook County General Hospital . 

Mark lay on the bed. Having shifted to his side so that he faced Elizabeth , Elizabeth brushed the side of his face with the back of her hand. 

"Get some sleep," she said softly. 

Mark mouthed some words that Elizabeth could not understand. After several attempts at gestures, Elizabeth could tell Mark was getting frustrated. 

"Here," she said gently, handing him a pencil and a notepad she had in her lab coat pocket. 

Mark rolled his eyes, but smiled. 

Still laying on his side, Mark scratched out what he was trying to say and handed it to Elizabeth . 

It read: 

You need some sleep too. Go home and get some sleep and a hot shower. 

I'll be ok. 

Elizabeth smiled. Though the note was a bit messy, to her, it was worth more than any painting in a museum. From that moment, she vowed to keep every one of the notes. She read the note twice, knowing that Mark knew just how she would respond, but she would try anyway.

"Mark," she started to protest, "I'm _not leaving you here…"_

Mark held up his hand, lifting it just a few inches off the bed. Elizabeth stopped talking as he took the notepad back and started writing again. This time, he wrote so long, he had to stop to rest momentarily before writing again. Intrigued, Elizabeth tried to sneak a peek. Mark was writing and holding the pad to the bed with just his right hand and arm. He had shifted so that he lay on his right side. Though the bed was soft, any pressure to Mark's side hurt him. However, this time, under morphine, the pain was bearable, and besides, Mark would go through any amount of pain for Elizabeth . Even if he was just writing her a note. When Elizabeth tried to sneak a peek, he smiled and carefully pulled the pad up so that the back of the pad faced her. Elizabeth grinned back, smiling like the Cheshire Cat. She purposely slowly tried to take a peek, knowing that she could have easily sneaked a peek before Mark had the chance to face the pad away, but she didn't. Finally, Mark finished, and handed it to her, resting back on the bed.

Elizabeth , you are my heart. My joy. My laughter, my soul. You keep me alive. It is because of you I am here. You have given me the will and strength to fight. I LOVE YOU, Elizabeth, and I don't want you to worry about me. But I don't have much control of that, do I? 

Elizabeth beamed when she read the question and looked at Mark.

"No, you don't," she giggled, then read on:

But I worry about you right now. And if you don't want me to worry, you would take care of yourself: for your sake and mine. How about we make a deal? Getting hit by a car, suffering a pneumothorax kind of takes the energy out of you. I'm exhausted right now. Why don't you stay with me until I fall asleep (which won't be very long), and when I do, go home. 

"But Mark," Elizabeth started to protest, but he pointed back down at the note:

Ah, ah ah… no buts. This Morphine is going to knock me out for hours. Trust me. Now is it a deal? Please? 

Elizabeth looked up from the note to Mark and smiled. 

"It's a deal," she agreed, kissing Mark on the cheek.

Leaning back in bed, Mark took Elizabeth 's hand in his as he settled in to sleep. Elizabeth stayed right by his side, holding his hand with her right while smoothing his forehead with her left.

Within a matter of minutes, Mark's breathing settled into a steady pace, and his grasp on Elizabeth 's hand loosened. 

Reluctant to leave, Elizabeth stayed with Mark well over an hour before she even rose from her seat. When she did, she rose slowly, taking a longing look at Mark as she walked out of the SICU. 

"Page me when he wakes up," Elizabeth told the RN at the desk. She punched the elevator button to go down to the first floor, and when the doors opened, Kerry stood inside.

"Kerry," Elizabeth greeted, a little surprised by her arrival.

" Elizabeth ," she said gently as she walked out of the elevator. Putting a gentle hand on Elizabeth 's arm, she asked how Mark was doing.

"He's okay…. I guess…," Elizabeth responded, sounding more like she was trying to convince herself, then with a slight smile she explained, "He demanded that I go home for a shower and to freshen up… but if-you-want-me-to-stay…."

"It's okay, Elizabeth ," Kerry replied, "I'll watch over Mark."

Feeling tears well up in her eyes again, Elizabeth tried to hold them back, but the sting in her eyes forced her to blink as two tears streamed down her cheeks.

Kerry opened up her arms and Elizabeth gave her a short hug. Elizabeth knew Kerry was just trying to help. In fact, she was being as great a friend as ever when she needed comfort the most, but nothing would compensate or even alleviate her grief until she felt the healthy, strong embrace of Mark. She never embraced others the way she embraced Mark. Elizabeth sighed as she knew that she would receive a lot of open arms from her friends in the ER and in the OR, but every time, she would feel that awkward empty feeling she felt now, because no embrace was compete unless it was in the arms of Mark Greene.

She looked longingly towards Mark as Kerry made her way to the SICU. Then, before she could hesitate again, Elizabeth walked down the stairs. Fumbling around her lab coat for her keys, she realized the keys were in Mark's locker. 

Taking a deep breath, Elizabeth went into the Doctor's Lounge, silently hoping that none of her colleagues were there. She was too emotionally exhausted to have to try and explain Mark's condition to another colleague. 


End file.
